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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Some people think it is better for children to begin to learn a foreign language at primary school than at secondary school. What’s your opinion? Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Language is the best means of communication. In the modern globalization era it is not enough to be able to speak one language to communicate with the outside world. I strongly support the idea that children should begin learning a foreign language at primary school than at secondary school. They faster become familiar with a strange language, improve their hearing ability to understand new words as time goes by and learn new words. In the following paragraphs I will list some reasons to support my position.

Firstly, there is no doubt that a young mind readily absorbs new information. Child psychologists often mention that the most formative years of learning happen in the first few years of life. Therefore, what children are exposed to is very often retained and remembered. In this way, a child is in a good position to learn the new information associated with a new language.

Secondly, senior students are often afraid to make mistakes when they are speaking in a new language. This fear is one of the biggest barriers for a person in their efforts to speak freely. Primary school children are not afraid of making grammatical mistakes because basically they just repeat words and sentences in the way they hear them. So, they have a better chance to get used to the right pronunciation of the language.

To sum up, I think that it is very essential for children to begin learning a foreign language in their early ages. It is brings many benefits such as great pronunciation. Also, it helps a child develop and gain more knowledge which is good for a long run.